Primera Air launches Tel Aviv flights then goes bankrupt

Less than a week after announcing the launching of Tel Aviv – Paris flights, Scandinavian low-cost airline Primera Air has declared bankruptcy.

Less than a week after announcing the launching of Tel Aviv - Paris flights, Scandinavian low-cost airline Primera Air has declared bankruptcy after 14-years of operations. The collapse has left hundreds of passengers stranded around the world and many hundreds more out-of-pocket.

Relatively few Israelis have been affected. In the last week of September, the company announced the launching of the Tel Aviv - Paris route with one-way tickets costing just $69. Five weekly flights were planned starting October 28.

Travel industry experts believe that only several hundred Israelis purchased Tel Aviv - Paris tickets from the company. The carrier's website tells ticketholders to keep updated by reading their website or to contact their travel agents for additional information. In other words, there is little that those who bought tickets direct from Primera's website can do as the company is not answering its phones or responding to online customer service enquiries. In all probability they have lost their money.

Israel Association of Travel Agencies CEO Hanny Sobol said that only a few hundred Israelis are likely to have been hit.